Dailies Contact Lenses

How long is it safe to keep and wear daily disposable contacts?

So I used to wear soft reusable three-month contacts, but they were too much of a pain this last year, so I downgraded to daily disposables. I usually only wear them to exercise, which is maybe every other day for five hours, and of course it seems like a tremendous waste to actually use a new pair every single day for only a few hours. How safe is it to, say, wear them for five hours one day, then store them in solution in a contact case for two days, then wear them for five hours again? Is it OK to keep them and wear them for a week? Or even longer? (I think a week would probaby be max for me.) Yeah, I'm careful about keeping them clean, and rub them when I take them out. Lately I've only been wearing them two times a pair. I know the company says "keep them only one day," but, jeez ... such a waste. Of course they want you to throw them out as quickly as possible so you'll buy more. Ha. OK. You've sufficiently freaked me out with the part about corneal damage.

Public Comments

1. It really depends on the brand. Most likely you'll be fine-I'm supposed to dispose of my contacts every two weeks.. But I've gone much longer than that on accident and I've been perfectly fine.
2. daily wear are made to wear for 8-12 hrs and then thrown away. (thats why you have so many.) if you wanted another kind, why didn't you ask the eye Dr for something else. There are thousands of combinations of contacts these days...
3. one month usually, i change them. i use them daily. put them on during the morning and take them off at night.
4. a day its in the name
5. They are daily ones, which means wear once, then throw away. But if you insist on being money savvy ... make sure they are cleaned and kept how your long term ones were, and perhaps wear a few times. I wouldnt go any more than a few times, a week sounds like its stretching it. You dont want an eye infection do you?
6. It's ok to wear them as long as they don't rip, tear, dry out or bother you in any way. They probably won't last long but it's certainly longer than a day.
7. This really depends on the brand. Usually, it would say something on the back of the box.
8. 'How safe is it to, say, wear them for five hours one day, then store them in solution in a contact case for two days, then wear them for five hours again?' I used to do that - for a couple of days ONLY (soaked once overnight). A week is too dodgy; don't risk it.
9. Daily-wear lenses should never be worn as extended-wear lenses. Misuse can lead to temporary and even permanent damage to the cornea. People who overwear any type of lens have a greater chance of developing infections of the cornea. Improper over wearing of contact lenses can also result in intolerance, leading to the inability to wear contact lenses! Just to get an idea of what you are risking,.. look up corneal ulcers and conjunctivitis online. You only have one set of eyes.. Trust your doc enough to just give their office a call. Explain as you have here how you wear them,.. ask what is the maximum you should keep them. Believe me, they will respect you for not just taking "our" advise and showing up with a bad infection! Good luck with the contacts!
10. Just because people wear contact lenses they are NOT in any means experts!!!! The deal with daily disposable lenses is that they are literally made for ONE wear and then disposal!! They are very thin and not made to withstand cleaning storing and all that handling!!!! The lens material is not made for multiple uses! You need to get a different type of lens if you would like to wear them more then once. The whole point of daily disposable lenses is the convenience of not having to clean them and store them... if you were not interested in throwing away your lenses after one wear then why did you agree to get this type of lens? Maybe a daily wear bi-weekly replacement lens would suite you better? Such lenses like O2 optix, Acuvue Oasys etc.... They last up to 14 wears and are made to be handled clean and stored!!! I really think you need to talk to your eye doctor about this and get a different type of lens that would better suite your needs..... don't listen to any random person on here... most people (not all) have no idea what they are talking about!!!!
11. I'll e-mail you